Hydropower Trends

By Kris Polly

In our cover story this month, we interview Tyson Dye, the generation supervisor at Lucky Peak Power Plant in Boise, Idaho, about the facility’s recent digitalization initiative. By walking us through the challenges, solutions, and results of the process, Mr. Dye provides an excellent overview of digitalization for other utilities and asset owners who may be considering embarking on the process.

Mead & Hunt has been designing hydropower infrastructure in the upper Midwest for 125 years—sometimes rehabilitating projects it designed itself more than 100 years ago! We speak with Warren Hayden, the business unit leader for dams and hydropower, about the firm’s capabilities and some recent rehabilitation projects.

Mark Wenckus is a consulting engineer with 45 years of hydro industry experience and the president of Wenckus Energy Inc. He is also the North American representative of HACKER Industrial, a Brazilian firm that is pioneering small, modular hydro devices used to power nonpowered dams. We hear about his recent projects and learn about the trends shaping the hydropower industry.

Next, we get a crash course on water rights and water banking from Dan Haller, a senior principal water resources engineer at Geosyntec Consultants. He walks us through the services his firm provides for hydropower clients and explains the importance of understanding and protecting facilities’ water rights during a time of uncertainty.

RTI International’s Center for Water Resources is a research institution that supports water planning and operations, dam safety, and weather forecasting, both for regulatory entities, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for hydropower clients. We speak with Shaun Carney, the director of water resources forecasting, and Jonathan Quebbeman, the director of water resources, about how new water management tools stand to benefit the hydropower industry.

Mechanical Solutions Inc. uses structural and fluids engineering to solve vibration, dynamics, or performance problems in hydroelectric turbines and pumps. Boris Kubrak, the director of computational fluids engineering, tells us about the company’s analytical methods, its use of digital prototypes for testing, and how AI stands to revolutionize hydro design in the future.

Finally, we speak with Patrice Martel of HYDAC, which provides hydraulic systems and components for the hydropower industry.

Digitalization, rehabilitation, the powering of nonpowered dams, uncertainty about water rights, and the growing role of AI: All are growing trends in hydropower. I hope that this month’s stories shed light on these important topics.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Hydro Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.